In The Name of Purity
by ThePersonWhoDoesntHaveAPenName
Summary: Karin goes to Kisuke's shop to buy some refreshments on a hot summer's day, but she gets less and more than she bargained for. Secrets of the Kurosaki family are finally revealed, and decisions for the future will be made! (Horrible summary, I swear it's better than this) Rated T for swearing.
1. I Divisions Revealed

**In The Name of Purity**

Prologue

It was an extremely hot summer's day. Loose t- shirt stuck in the back out of sweat- kind of hot. We can be honest when we state that it was fucking hot. Or that's how Karin felt, at least.

The air in her room was suffocating her, even though the purpose of air is quite the opposite. The dust and the heat working together with air made sure our 'soon to be fifteen year-old' felt like dying. She couldn't even make sense of the text in the comic she was reading anymore. Can't focus. It's too hot. So she cried out to her sister, who was the only person in the house including herself:

'' Do we have anything cold, Yuzu?'' she whispered to herself dramatically'' a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g...?''

Her sister came by her door, which Karin kept open to let fresh air in, though it seemed like it was all long gone.

'' No, still nothing. Dad'll come from the shop soon enough, I'm sure of it'' Yuzu tried to convince her sister who looked at her with those bored eyes, as always.

'' That damn idiot can't fucking do anything quickly. Moron. He should've let you and me go since we know the meaning of the word 'sufficient'. But noo, we're his little darling angels'' This is where she took a deep breath of the dusty, old air, and she felt like she was in a sauna, and then continued her rant:

'' Bullshit. I am no angel. You might be, seriously, but I am and never will be daddy's little angel. That fucking prick, trying to please us and shit. MORON, I say. Moron.''

Yuzu had gone back to the kitchen where she had opened the refrigerator door to keep herself cool as her sister kept complaining about their father. It was rather normal and almost casual, the continuing rants that her raven haired sister had about their father. Yuzu had always appreciated the efforts their father went through for them, and she knew Karin did, too,since she was no fool. But she had this weird aura around their father all the time. Like she held a grudge against him for something, something... unspoken. But now, Karin was beginning to get on her last nerve, which was something many people couldn't be capable of doing to her. But the fusion of heat, dust and a pissed of teenager were too much.

'' Karin'' Yuzu lifted her head up from the floor she was looking at, as she held her back against the refrigerator, and looked at her sister straight in the eye.

'' Maybe you should go to Urahara-san's shop to get some refreshments too, then?'' Yuzu tried to sound cheerful and not annoyed, like she was, but Karin recognized that there was something strange in her voice, and took the hint.

She got out of her now sweaty pajama, that was a loose t- shirt with the text ' Pure' on it. She put on a loose tank top, that was supposed to be a crop top, but it was a bit too big for her, so it went past her belly. For bottoms she just took the first thing she could find, which was a pair of grey fleece shorts.

She tied her hair into a ponytail like she always did these days, since her hair got so long and it was constantly in the way.

'' I'm going now'' she stated to her sister.

Yuzu showed a thumbs up from the kitchen as an approval.

'' Bet'cha ten yenis I'll be back before that idiot of a dad '' She said snarkily and closed the door behind her, leaving the dusty hot air behind.

* * *

><p>The outside air was even worse. The incredibly hot and bright sun beamed at her like she was a snake in a terrarium under those horrible lights. What made it even worse, was the fact that she hadn't thought through the whole 'fleece as a fabric in the summer''- thing, and her hips and behind were steaming in hot sweat.<p>

She just wished that Urahara's shop was five blocks closer to her.

She couldn't seem to focus on anything with the heat and all, mixing up her brain, and taking her to places where she didn't want to be: her brother, Ichigo.

That dumbass hasn't shown himself in a long, long time. She knows he's just off in the spirit world or shit like that, doing some death reaping with Rukia. Although, she isn't entirely sure whether Rukia has even been in contact with that sorry brother of her's.

Oh, Ichigo. You fucking moron. You fucking, fucking moron. Thinks he's doing the right thing, leaving us behind, saving the damn universe with the magical unicorn death god powers of his and keeping us ''safe''.

MORON.

He's just making things worse for us. We don't know where he is, when is he coming back or how bummed out he'll be when he's around us, since that guy prefers to save the world all the time. Poor Ichigo. It's oh-so hard to be happy around your family, isn't it? I don't hate you, Ichigo, she thinks. It's the opposite. I love you, but why the fuck do you have to worry us so-

'' How can I help you, Karin-chan?'' a familiar male voice vibrates through the hot air, making his voice a bit mushy.

'' Urahara-san?'' She squints her eyes so the sun won't get in to her eyes and sees that the guy is Urahara, in fact.

Urahara notices that the girl doesn't seem well and invites her inside his well air- conditioned shop. Karin let's out a moan of relief, she can finally breathe. For her surprise the shop has a couple of ordinary customers, humans, doing the exact same thing she is: breathing.

'' Nee, it seems to be the hottest summer in a while, doesn't it?'' Urahara tries to create small talk, but fails since everyone is keen on the fresh breathing air.

When Karin has had enough air she says:

'' I'm not here for the usual, I-''

'' Want to become a shinigami like your brother? Fantastic, I knew this day was yet to-'' He utters, but is cut off by the hand of the young woman on his mouth.

'' NO,'' she whispers to him, '' and could you keep it down, man? People will think you're crazy!''

Urahara gave Karin a determined look and turned to the other customers, looking at them now with a sinister expression. Soon enough they had run out the door, rather be out in the inferno of a summer than one more second with a suspicious freak.

Karin looked at him amused at his playful nature, ready to turn the customers away so he could talk to her. But his life didn't depend on the living he made in the human world, it was all just extra. Suddenly he seemed arrogant.

'' I'm just here for some refreshments'' she says coldly, and tries not to look at the man.

'' I see. Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, really, I am, but it seems that I've run out of almost every candy here except the ''Chilly Chili Chibi''- candies, so those will have to do, If you're keen on getting something'' He explained and pointed at the six foot long pile of chili candy boxes back in his storage unit.

'' This isn't fucking possible''she said and looked at Urahara, disappointed and surprisingly, laughing. She laughed hard and loud, and not as often as you'd think. Kisuke Urahara watched the girl lose herself in her laughter and find a way out of her laughter three minutes later, her eyes red from all the tears caused by the burst. Then she looked very serious, sad even, like in the limbo of here laughter she had realized something important.

''You know,'' she said, narrowing her eyebrows and coughing, clearing her throat from the previous scene '' My dad and my brother keep things from us''

Kisuke looked at the youngster, curious.

'' Us?'' he frowned.

'' Me and my sister, I mean.'' she replied and continued on '' like essential things about their lives. Like, where they've been for the couple of months, weeks, days, hours. I mean, they give an excuse but I can tell they're lying through their teeth'' she sighed and sat on the counter, by the register.

The man had always known there was something moving behind those seemingly emotionless eyes, and he knew she was clever, but he had estimated for her to get to this point a bit later than this. He thought he still had time to think about all the lies and excuses but she was here, now.

'' Do you have any idea what they're keeping from us, Urahara- san? Because I'm up to here with they're excuses, and I know that Ichigo's a shinigami, but I'm oblivious about the things it requires.'' She came down from the counter she had sat on, and pulled Urahara down to her level by the collar of his kimono.

'' I know that I have seem uninterested so far, but don't let my apathetic face confuse you. I'm fucking disturbed, and frankly quite pissed at you, dad and my stupid brother. I know you're tangled in this hot mess of a family in some ways and right now, my friend, I need some information.''

The shop owner smiled cunningly.

'' Anything in particular?''

1. Divisions revealed

It had been a long session of Urahara-san explaining all about the phases of the Kurosaki family: Isshin's life as reaper, Masaki's secured Quincy life and death by the King, the true life of Ichigo as a reaper so far and the Quincy war. Needless to say, Karin felt herself a bit overwhelmed and suddenly she couldn't breathe cool air either. She couldn't believe they kept all this from her. Mom... Mom...

'' Are you alright, Kurosaki-san?'' Urahara asked and placed his hand gingerly on her shoulder, but the young woman shook it off as soon as she felt it. She didn't need compassion. She needed truth, and now she had it, but it all seemed so... surreal. Her father, a fucking death god captain? This is like a blues song with heavy metal lyrics. That's the thing that boggled her the most, her father. Her father was actually a strong fucking guy, not to be taken lightly, like he always makes sure he is.

And mom.

Mom was a person. I know something, no, everything about mom I need to know. She loved us, she really loved dad, and she was a strong chick as well. She was an icon.

But how, HOW in the hell could those two keep so quiet for so long? Saying absolutely nothing about this shit? I mean I get the whole 'father & son' relationship mystique, but seriously, I feel like sharing the fact that you're a death reaper is an important fact that defines your character pretty strongly, and if you're too chicken shit to share it with your family, then who the hell can you share it with? Karin thought to herself as she felt something crunchy between her fingers.

'' Kurosaki-san, I'd appreciate it if you didn't crush that bag of ''Chilly Chili Chibis'', please '' Urahara noted the aggression the girl had being transferring into the muscles in her hand.

'' Those fucking dicks!'' Karin shouted, not looking directly anywhere, like seeing a ghost that she so often had the pleasure to meet.

'' I get that you're angry, but try to understand, your father and your brother are really independent and protective people. They believed that the right way of protecting you two was to stay silent about their pasts. Your idea of protecting is different, isn't it?'' Urahara looked at the girl from the distance, knowing that there'd still be a few more emotional outbursts. Mostly rage, he figured.

''Yeah, in fact completely! Security is built on honesty and trust, which I feel like, hasn't been ever exposed under the Kurosaki roof.'' Karin's hands were shaking which she noticed right away and folded her arms in front of her chest so that Urahara wouldn't notice. She fixed her eyes on the boxes of chili candies, because she didn't want look at the shop's keepers pretentiously compassionate face.

'' You know, I always thought Mom would've been the normal one who us Kurosaki weirdos brought down unintentionally with our freakishness'' she paused to breathe in for a minute, then continued '' but turns out, her Qyincyness broke our family''

There was a wall of silence between them after this, Urahara didn't know what to say and Karin only just understood what she had said.

'' But I love her, based on what you told me''

'' You didn't know her, Karin-chan'' said a husky male voice that differed from the way this particular man usually spoke. The voice echoed from behind Karin, and as she turned around to face the figure she knew, she felt more empowered than ever.

'' Oh, hi dad, how was your trip to the shop, I wonder?'' Karin said sarcastically as her father approached her. She didn't move an inch as her father, looking more serious than ever and sweatier than ever too, approached her. His blue t-shirt was entirely soaked and his khaki-shorts reeked of ammonia. His hair was a mess, too, and his eyes tired.

'' Karin-chan, why didn't you just let me take care of the groceries?'' He asked gently, and smiled his sympathetic smile, still, even though Karin knew everything.

Karin looked at her father with the mixture of two emotions reflecting from her face. Anger and relief.

'' Dad'' she said quietly, looking him straight in the eye, finally sure she could make eye-contact, for she had no tears to spare anymore.

'' Dad, I know everything now'' she said and smiled honestly.

Isshin looked at his little girl, baffled by the words that left her lips, but he didn't let it show. He said:

'' Oh you do now, do you?'' as if challenging her to tell him everything. Karin looked at her father suspiciously, when he let the following phrase out:

'' Well you might as well, I guess''

'' What?'' Karin said arching an eyebrow.

'' I said, you might as well. You're almost fifteen, I guess you're old enough to know'' Then he turned to his former colleague, saying:

'' My trusted friend, telling things to my daughter I should be telling , shame on you!'' He patted his shoulder and laughed lightly, which irritated the youngster.

'' Dad, piss off'' Karin said and turned to her father, enraged.

'' What is it Karin-chan?'' He said worryingly, a little bit disappointed in the way she spoke to her father.

'' Oh, fuck you dad! Now that I finally do understand it's because of Kisuke! You would've never been this honest with me in a million years! You and Ichigo with all your secrets and lies were killing me! Your fucking ''father and son shinigamis for life''- conspiracy left me and Yuzu out! How in the hell are we supposed to be a family if we can't share the things with each other that truly define us, huh?'' she yelled, having just enough strength in her to keep her tears of desperation inside.

'' I was always going to tell you. I was just waiting for you to get strong enough to handle yourself. I just wanted to keep you and Yuzu safe, Karin-chan'' Isshin looked at his daughter who resembled him at his youth so much that it almost hurt.

'' Dad'' Karin looked at her father with teary eyes now. She hadn't cried in front of her father in years, not since her mom had died. It was so overwhelming, that she even fell to her knees.

'' Dad, you and Ichigo kept things from me. Big things. You two kept a whole fucking war from me, now tell me, how is that even possible? I know dad, I know that you were trying to protect me but... ''

'' But?'' Isshin said feeling as though he was finally on the same page with her daughter.

'' But I don't know if I can ever forgive you''

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR's NOTE:<strong>

**This is my second fan-fic ever, so I bet it still needs a lot of polishing, but**

**hell, I'm lazy. I'm sorry if it has incorrect aspects to it but I'll try to live with them if**

**you want to point them out. I'll most probably make this a multi-chapter fic, but let us see. **

**Most likely no one will read this and I seem like a doofus, but I'll try to live with that too. PS.I don't own Bleach, but I bet Tite Kubo doesn't mind my horrible writing :)**

**PEACE!**


	2. II Silenced Ideas

II. Silenced ideas

The way back home was torture for the Kurosaki offspring. Her father looked like an injured puppy dog, which she tried hard not to notice. She herself felt beat by the heat and the new knowledge she had acquired. It was both a blessing and a curse, like being a part of this family. And what should she tell Yuzu? The truth, I guess, she thought to herself solemnly.

Why am I even debating on this? Of course I'll tell her the truth!

'' Oi, dad!'' she hollered to his father, who looked at her with this broken down way that freaked Karin out, so that she forgot for a second what she had to say.

'' I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to tell Yuzu the truth, even if you're not in on it''

Isshin approached her with two long steps, and said in a serious tone:

'' You wouldn't dare without my permission, I am your father''

'' Oh so I'm Luke Skywalker now?''She gave her father a snarky comeback which made a short, shared smile appear on both of the Kurosaki's faces. Then they continued walking in utter silence, since everyone with a little sense in their head was inside in their air-conditioned homes, leaving the streets completely empty.

It wasn't until they were behind their own front door when Isshin grabbed Karin's hand before she could turn the door knob.

'' Now you listen to me missy and you listen well:I did not mean to hurt you in any way by keeping those secrets, and you know that, deep down inside. I know you more mature than this, and I beg, don't tell Yuzu. It will only hurt her.''

Karin looked at the man who she found unbelievably unchanging right now.

''Are you serious? Didn't you pay attention to anything I said at the shop? Do you understand what lies do to us?They break us apart! If you don't want to tell Yuzu the truth, then that basically means you don't consider her a part of our family'' she shouted, unaware of her loudness.

'' Keep it down, nimrod!'' Isshin whispered and covered his daughter's mouth with his palm.

'' Now you listen to me for once, for once I tell you!'' he said seriously, still whispering.

'' Yuzu is my little angel, the only one of you three who will talk to me without sarcastic tones and beatings, the only one of you who has patience for me'' he twists Karin's wrist unintentionally, but hard, silencing her out of shock.

'' And I am not going to let you ruin her, like you two have been ruined by...'' he gagged as tears started to form in the corners of his reddened eyes, and continued:

''...me''

He let her hand go and Karin kept her head down, gazing at the floor. She felt bad for her father, whose tears she could see dripping next to her feet. She understood her father's actions, but was unwilling to let them just pass by. She tried not to feel bad for him, but couldn't help it. She took her look off the floor and looked at her father straight in the eye, now with a sympathetic look in her eyes. She said, with a calm voice:

'' You didn't ruin us, dad. Our fates are for us to decide, ok? I mean yes, you had your part in it since we are your spawn, but, as you well know we are the ones who make the choices. Not any power in the universe could stop a Kurosaki from doing what they are set to do''

Isshin looked at her daughter like she was the goddess her mother used to be. It moved him, the way this child-like wisdom was obvious but unreachable to him, until his daughter had formed it into a speech.

'' Dad'' Karin said and took Isshin by the hand, squeezing it as hard as she used to when she was still a toddler.

'' We have to tell her''

Isshin gave his daughter an agreeing nod, but he still looked a bit afraid as his daughter opened the door.

There was no coming back from this, ever.

* * *

><p>The morning after everything was out in the open in the Kurosaki family, Yuzu didn't change her routines and got up at seven o' clock to clean the living room and the kitchen, before cooking the breakfast.<p>

She wasn't shocked. She wasn't happy, either. She somehow had this almost magical power to adjust to anything. She can still remember Inoue-chan and Chad-san telling her about the war that had taken place in Karakura, and how Ichi-nii was a part of it, how her brother was a death god.

She had believed it right away then too.

It was no secret that her family was a bit off. And that she wasn't as off as the rest of them, since she couldn't see spirits very well. This knowledge didn't mean much to her. It's not like she'd need it, since she had no powers.

But she was glad to know about her mother. Nevertheless, she would always be glad about that.

'' Morning, Yuzu!'' Karin said as she entered the kitchen in her old, raggedy, striped denim overalls, the pant part being skin-tight jean-like. There had been a storm overnight, which didn't surprise anyone, for the day had been so repressive, hot and calm. Now the temperature was half of what it was the day before, and it was still pouring.

'' Morning'' she answered, concentrating on her cooking. Karin grabbed a nearby comic book which she was happy to read in peace while she still had some soul repellent in store. She wasn't sure how to act around her father anymore, and was happy that he wasn't up yet, so she could come up with a new way of confronting him. So she asked her sister:

'' How do you feel about dad's past?''

The question echoed in Yuzu's ears, and she wasn't sure how to respond, but she opened her mouth, almost out of reflex just to say:

'' I don't feel anything. He's my dad, and I love him despite everything ever!'' She blushed as she said it, and Karin just stared at her in awe. Yuzu seemed to really trust their old man. Should Karin also try that out?

'' Mornin' girls! Mmh, what a tasty smell, Yuzu!'' Isshin walked into the room, his Doctor's coat still on, after all he had woken up before anybody to open the health clinic.

'' I'm just boiling rice, dad'' Yuzu said and smiled charmingly to her father who then ruffled her hair as a gesture of affection. Yuzu seemed a bit mad at her father for ruffling it up, since she did her hair for the longest time, for she had a compulsive need to have her hair as tidied up as possible.

Isshin sat down by the table and glared at his raven-haired daughter humorously, which clearly disturbed the girl.

'' What?'' she asked, slapping him on the shoulder with the comic she was previously pretending to read, but was now disturbed by the utterly ridiculous gaze her just as ridiculous father was giving her.

'' Oh, just an idea'' He said slyly, knowing now what were his daughter's triggers. Secretive behavior.

''Oh out with it or I'll..'' she didn't know what she'd do, but then saw the pot of rice on the burner that Yuzu wasn't currently paying attention to and grabbed it, holding it in her hand, and opening the window.

''What are you doing?'' Isshin asked overly acted fear in his voice.

''I'll drop it'' she said dramatically, but before anything else happened between the two, Yuzu had grabbed the pot from Karin's hand and slapped her and her father on the head.

'' Quit playing with food, dummies!'' she tried to be as kind about it as possible, but couldn't help but be mad.

''We're sorry'' Isshin said and sat himself down, Karin following his moves.

''Yuzu could you sit down too, please? I have some information regarding all of us'' Isshin said and pulled Yuzu down by her hand to sit down. He gave the two a solemn look, but you could sense the enthusiasm behind the serious mask. He began:

'' After yesterday, I realized that you two are smarter and older than I had admitted to myself. I am so proud of both of you, you know that?'' He said and earned two pretty smiles, even though Karin's was a little bit forced.

'' Yuzu, you don't have the spiritual powers that we do, and it's great as long as you don't want to have these powers. I am not sure if your powers will bloom at some point in your life or will they ever bloom but we love you just the way you are. I have the feeling you are reasonably happy here, in the Human world, and I want to keep you here. The only question is, do you want to stay?''

Yuzu looked at her father with a serious expression, but she felt like everything her father said was reasonable. And she didn't want to have spiritual powers anymore, now that she knew what a heavy weight they were to bear. She gave her father the obvious answer:

'' Yes, I want to stay. I'm happy the way things are for me.''

Ishhin kissed Yuzu's forehead lovingly and turned to look at the girl he was more worried about.

He casually noted:

'' You're going to Shin'ō Academy''

Karin and Yuzu both looked at their father in disbelief, Karin more than Yuzu, naturally.

'' What?'' They both said monotonically which Isshin found rather freaky, but he repeated:

'' I said, you're going to Shin'ō Academy''

'' Yeah, I heard you, but are you even serious? What is that even? A death academy? What do they teach you there, huh? How to be dead?'' Karin sounded a bit hysterical, unlike to her nature.

'' No,'' Isshin paused and held Karin's hand now, which Karin surprisingly didn't shake off, '' It's an academy for shinigami, or, uh, they teach you how to become a shinigami''

'' Uhmm, and why should I go there, dad? I have a school here in Karakura. It sucks ass, but I hav-''

'' Well you said it!'' Isshin interrupted, '' You don't like it! Might as well continue the Shiba legacy and become a shinigami!'' Isshin said enthusiastically, with bright eyes.

'' But, dad, my knowledge of the shinigami-lifestyle is pretty primary. I know very little of it.'' Karin said and Isshin could smell her interest clearly, like curry sauce when it fills the whole house with its smell.

'' It doesn't matter! They'll teach you the rest in the academy!'' Isshin said and removed his hand from Karin's and now put it on her shoulder.

'' I know you can do this. Your reiatsu has been growing lately, and it's almost overwhelming. Do you want me to tell you something?''

Karin looked intrigued.

''What?''

'' Yesterday, didn't you find it hard to breathe at times?'' Isshin said and looked at his girls who both nodded.

'' Well, that was half because of the weather, of course, but when I left to buy some groceries, I noticed that the further I was from our house the easier it became to breathe. You know what that tells me?''

''What?'' The twins said yet again monotonically which began to frighten the father a fair bit.

'' Your reiatsu, Karin. It was your reiatsu that made it so hard to breathe.''

Yuzu looked at Karin like she had realized something and then noted:

'' I think you're right dad. I don't exactly know what reiatsu is, but, when Karin had gone to Urahara-san's, it was almost right away easier to breathe''

Karin looked at her family like they were crazy. Her powers couldn't be that big, no way. But then she realized how hard it was for her to breathe all along, and how it had made her so irritated and obnoxious. It freaked her out. Maybe, maybe she really should try out this academy thing. Although, as she had already stated, she knew nothing about shinigamis, and the idea was ludicrous, but...

'' Okay, I'll go'' She said, and just like that it was decided. The Kurosaki family would begin it's own legacy.

A legacy of power.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So this is the second chapter, and I am welcoming reviews with open arms.**

**Right now I'm happy where this story is going, and I will most likely be writing a lot about Shin'ō Academy, which I'm mostly interested about.**

**There isn't much information about it though, so I get most of it from the Bleach wiki and the manga.**

**PEACE!**


	3. III Preparations

III. Preparations

Almost immediately after the agreement of Karin's transfer to Soul Society and the decision that she would start her soon beginning school year in the shinigami school, Isshin had remembered that there was an entrance exam that one had to go through before actually getting to go to Shin'ō Academy. It was hard for him to remember all about the exam, since it had been over twenty years since he himself had gone through the test. He wasn't exactly the nerd in the class. He didn't do very well in theoretical tests, almost always getting 50 out of 100. But when they got into action, there was no doubt he was a true shinigami, greater than many of his fellow students, who got 100/100 from their theoretical tests.

As he remembered it, the entrance exam had theoretical test, but also something else...if only he'd remember...

'' So dad'' Karin said across the table as she had noticed her father drifting off.

'' What does the Academy require from me? I mean, can I just go there and say 'Hi, I'm Captain Shiba's daughter Kurosaki Karin, and I want you to let me inside this school, because I'm that darn cool' or what?'' Karin asked and ate her now ready rice with chopsticks from a beautifully decorated bowl.

'' Well, I'm certain you'll have some advantage on the other applicants, since you are one third quincy and hollow. It'll definitely light a light bulb above the Shinigami Research Institute's heads, since your brother has fled to the unknown parts of Soul Society on a mission'' Isshin said gravely, obviously worried, since he knew Ichigo was always in the center of the trouble-cyclone.

Karin and Yuzu had heard about their brother yesterday, and could not help but worry, too. His life didn't construct on just protecting them anymore. Nor had it in a long time. But their brother (hopefully) knew what he was doing and they tried to trust him.

'' So I'll apply for it? How?'' Karin said and finished off her bowl of rice, taking it to the sink and thanked Yuzu, who was washing dishes, listening to the on-going conversation observantly.

'' Well, we must turn you into a soul, which is easily done, and happens while you pass through the gates to Soul Society. We'll all go with you, even Yuzu will tag along, if she wants''

They both looked at Yuzu, clearly wanting her to come along, and she herself was a bit interested too.

'' Yeah, sure, it'll be fun!'' she smiles cheerfully and continues with her wash-up.

Isshin looked serious again, and said:

'' Since ol' Yamamoto died, a new head for the institute hasn't been chosen, and most of the captains have had to hold up the application ceremonies and see if you're good enough. Lately, I hear, it's been Komamura-san, I bet he gives a fluffy impression on the new ones'' Isshin says and laughs at his own joke, which the girls didn't understand since they didn't know that much about Gotei 13, and the captains. In fact, they were still pretty much oblivious about Soul Society, since that didn't come up in their talks more than that's where their dad is actually from, and that he was a captain of some sort.

Isshin notices their empty and inquiring eyes and just says:

'' He's a three meter fox''

Yuzu's eyes shine like stars and she is clearly all about it, while Karin doesn't care.

'' So what? We just go there and I say that I want to apply for the school, and that's it?'' Karin asks, trying to continue the conversation into the direction she wants it to go.

'' Well, no, you have to do an entrance exam about the history of shinigami's and stuff'' Isshin says, still having a hard time remembering what the exam was all about.

'' But you'll do fine, you always get straight A's in human world'' He says and laughs, while Karin continues:

''That's Yuzu, dad. I'm failing in almost every subject except P.E, math and economy'' Karin said, somehow disappointed in herself.

'' Oh'' Isshin says and also returns his plate to Yuzu, after eating three servings of white rice.

'' Well to be honest'' he paused to burp,''Sorry about that'' and then continued ''I'm not frankly an expert on human school subjects either, so no worries'' He gave Karin a thumbs up while she shot back a unimpressed look.

Then Isshin's recently purchased beeper went off, meaning that there was a patient heading towards their clinic. Isshin had to only give a nod towards Yuzu's direction, and she knew what to do. Before exiting the room, Isshin told Karin to visit Kisuke, who could help her further in her goals, and give her the information she needed. Karin smiled at her father and started to put her boots on, not knowing how proud she had made her father.

* * *

><p>''Oi! Tessai!'' Kisuke yelled, his voice muffled by something.<p>

The muscular man, needed by his childhood friend was used to Kisuke running him around. He didn't hold a grudge against him for treating him like a second class citizen. Heavens no! He just liked to take his time before arriving before the man in the need of assistance. For fun.

It turned out that the tower of the chili candy boxes had fallen on top of him and he was stuck, underneath the boxes. It was interesting how a former Gotei 13 captain could be conquered by seven cardboard boxes, and Tessai jokingly thought how the quincies could have used cardboard boxes against them and it would have been the shinigami's turmoil. Instead of the useless party of freaks they actually used.

''Are you ok, Kisuke?'' Tessai asked, looking at his worn-out friend, as he helped him up from underneath the boxes.

'' I'm fine, I just got stuck'' He responded a little bit embarrassed by his defeat to the candy-boxes.

As Tessai was leaving the room he heard the front door to the shop open, and he gave Kisuke a look, who then entered the shop side of the house. He wasn't extremely surprised by who he found standing there.

'' Ah, Kurosaki-san! You're return delights me so. Is your father still mad at you?'' He said and went by the counter, starting to casually count the cash from the register as he continued the conversation.

''No, I guess you could say we found an understanding'' Karin replied as she went to face Urahara by the counter. The man gave the girl a curious ''hm'' as the girl continued:

'' I'm going to the shinigami academy''

'' And I want you to prep me for the entrance exam''

Kisuke Urahara couldn't believe his ears. A Kurosaki, yet again in need of his assistance. Though Karin was the only one who was wise enough to demand it when she truly needed help. Wise girl. He couldn't help but wonder if this was going to be the beginning of something great? Unbeatable?

The man's face couldn't be seen from under his hat which shadowed it, but he was smiling as he said:

'' Just say please''

* * *

><p>The next few weeks were unbearable for our young Kurosaki, for she couldn't stand the way Kisuke taught her. Always so mysterious when it came to practicing reiatsu-control, which she thought she was good at until the man told him she was shit. They mostly practiced on that, as Urahara himself said that the decision, would they let her in or not, was mostly based on reiatsu. How much you had it and how well you could control it, and eventually, how well you used it in fights. Of course, it had a theoretical test, but it was pretty straight forward based on the history of shinigami's and their techniques, spells and such. It was good that Urahara owned almost all the books ever printed on these subjects, since he needed the basic information on all of this when coming up with new inventions. So, he lent around three or four books to her in a week, which she took her time reading.<p>

She found it interesting, finding out so much about this other world which seemed like utter fiction to any ordinary passer-by, but she knew it was real and it both frightened and delighted her.

''Now Karin'' Kisuke explained one day in October as they had finally had enough training for the day, '' Your Human school will begin in April, as it will in Soul Society.''

''Yeah, I know. I haven't been reading all of those books about Soul Society's school system for nothing, you know.'' Karin said annoyed as she wiped the sweat off her forehead. They had done some extreme meditation to help her contain her reiatsu, which she was finally getting the hang of.

''Well then you must know that the application for Shin'ō Academy needs to be filed by the-''

'' 31st of October, and it is now the 28th. Yes, I was going to ask about that'' Karin said and felt a twist in the ear as Urahara grabbed her by it, saying:

'' Dammit, Kurosaki! Interrupting those older than you, it's impolite and disrespectful! And don't be arrogant'' He released her, her ear red from his hold.

'' Urahara, may I just say-'' Karin was about to tell him how respect isn't earned by age but in fact by your actions, only Kisuke wasn't interested one bit in her declarations, and he cut her off.

''No you may not''

Silence fell between them, as Kisuke got up the exited the training ground, saying:

''We'll talk upstairs''

Karin was left to the secret training ground alone in her sweaty clothes, pondering.

It'll happen soon, she thought. Soon I will become a shinigami, and I can never return back to my old life. I'm sure I'm doing the right thing for me, but...

What about Yuzu?

As she was getting up to the first floor, she couldn't help but think of her twin sister, who had always sacrificed her time for this messed up family. Always cooking, cleaning, coming to her soccer games like a mom would. But Karin knew the timid schoolgirl side of her sister too, which always reminded her that she wasn't a life-force that always kept going. She was just as insecure as all the other girls their age, thinking about boyfriends and such. Karin hated the idea of a kissy-lovey-dovey ultramegasweet romance that all the girls dreamed of. Including her sister, though she didn't dare to confess it even to Karin. Oh, how Karin would miss her sister. And Yuzu would miss her too.

'' Surprise!'' an overwhelmingly loud shout knocked Karin off her feet as she came upstairs, seeing her father and sister beside Urahara, Tessai, Jinta and Ururu. They had written ''Congratulations on your hard studying'' on a huge, plain white sheet that Karin recognized to be her own, and it was hanging on the wall. They had an ice cream cake, melting on the counter and a huge backpack full of her stuff, and surprisingly, ramen-noodles.

Oh my god, she thought. This is my going away party.

'' Oh, my little girl is so grown up, she's already flying away from this beautiful nest I built around her!'' Her father cried as he had come to hug her, now getting his snot all over Karin's hair from all the intense crying. Yuzu approached her too, bravely trying not to follow her father's lead, but when she shared an understanding look with her sister she cried too, saying:

'' Uwaaah, Karin! You're going to become such a great shinigami!'' What she really wanted to say was please don't leave me, but she knew this meant a lot to her sister so encouraged her like a mother, as always.

Urahara's gang looked at the emotional family touched, all except Jinta who was hoping to score on some ice cream cake. Ururu was beginning to get teary- eyed too, which Jinta noticed and started to slap her shouting:

'' Get a grip woman!''

But Tessai stopped their fighting, punching Jinta in the head.

'' Dad'' Karin said, not crying,'' It'll be ok''and she still added, letting go of them both,''I want this'' and she smiled at them, determined.

Isshin read her like an open book, she was already ready to leave. He desperately stammered out, because he was crying:

''Wou- Would you like some i-ice cream cake before you go, Karin-chan?''

Karin looked at her father, and understood what he was trying to do, and decided she might as well still wait for a while and agreed to have one piece of the strawberry ice-cream cake.

The whole lot sat down on the floor, eating their pieces in perfect harmony, except for Jinta, who tried to steal Ururu's piece the whole time. They were all done in less than ten minutes, all hungry for it was suppertime by now. They all placed their plates in a stack by the counter, and Karin grabbed the bag that was packed by her sister for her. Most of her clothes were there, but as she later investigated it, her particular pajama t-shirt with ''Pure'' on it wasn't packed with.

Kisuke couldn't escort her to Soul Society, but helped her out by opening the Senkaimon together with Tessai in the secret training ground. Ururu and Jinta stayed upstairs as told. When the Kurosakis went down Isshin handed something to Karin..a key?

''What's this?'' Karin asked her father, actually puzzled by the object.

'' It's my old dormitory key. I never returned it, so now you'll get my old room!'' Isshin grinned, feeling cheeky as hell, but Kisuke, who overheard their conversation right away noted:

''Don't you think they would've made a new key, idiot?''

'' No'' Isshin said, '' I have that covered'' he said mysteriously, and Karin couldn't help but feel a bit alarmed when he saw how wide his father's smile got. This would not be good.

They had arrived in front of a huge white square, made of rocks.

'' Is this supposed to be the grand entrance?'' Karin said unimpressed by the plain square mountain. It seemed like a picture from a math book, with the problem: how many rocks do you put in a so and so big square if the side is so and so long?

Urahara and Tessai left the teenager with her snarky remarks and went by the gate, Urahara on the other lower angle of the square and Tessai another. They seemed focused, but by now Karin herself learned what they were doing. They were using the power of their soul to transform the human material into soul material, which sort of turned her into a soul, as she would pass through it. Urahara had given her strict instruction on how to pass through it, and she only had four minutes time to pass the ''Dangai'', or she'll be trapped there forever. But, she had her father and sister with her, which made it less intimidating.

''Are you ready?'' Urahara asked.

''Always'' Karin answered, and watched the door open.

* * *

><p><strong>AN So there it was! Pretty questionable, and I'm sorry if my story (in general) has a lot of**

**spelling mistakes because I've been in such a haze that my editing has been total crap :/ so forgive me, please.**

**In the next chapter, I'll most likely bring Toushiro Hitsugaya in, and in my story we play by the rules of the manga,**

**so basically Karin and Toshiro haven't met before. **

**That's all.**

**PEACE!**


	4. IV The Tests Of The Netherworld

IV. The Tests of the Netherworld

This was weird. Oh, wait, no, that's an understatement, Karin thought to herself as she gazed upon the bizarre feudal land of Soul Society. She and the rest of the Kurosaki lot had arrived by the northern gate of Seireitei, where a huge monkey-like shinigami was standing, frightened by the sight of the former captain Isshin Shiba, who he hadn't seen in a long time.

'' Captain Shiba, is that you?'' he yelled, getting a good look at him first. Yes, it was him. '' You have come back here, and how long has it been?'' The guard sounded emotional.

'' Over twenty years by now, my friend'' Isshin answered compassionately, which was the wrong thing to do, since this monkey got violent when he was emotional.

''You bastard!'' He cried bitterly as he swung his ax at the former captain, who ducked in return. Yuzu and Karin followed this ridiculous fight, Yuzu having a hard time keeping her hysterical screams down in her throat and not vibrating through the air. Karin for herself couldn't believe how grown men could be this pathetic and emotional. So she screamed at them:

'' WILL YOU TWO JUST FUCKING QUIT IT?! I'M TRYING TO GET TO MY NEW SCHOOL, ASSHOLES!''

Both of them looked at the young woman, dumbfounded. The monkey man gave Isshin a look, which meant '' is that your offspring?'' and Isshin simply nodded in response. Then the monkey man got serious and and opened the door, knowing that it was better to let this powerful family pass by than fight them, which would leave him paralyzed for the rest of his life. He had met the testy orange-haired first-born of theirs, after all.

''Go, you crazy sons of bitches'' he laughed, knowing that Shiba Isshin never took his teases seriously.

The gate slammed hard against the rocky ground as they had arrived to the other side, where wondering eyes met theirs. All of the shinigami, dressed in their black kimonos, were looking at them. Well, mostly everyone was looking at Isshin, since they were familiar with him. Mouths gaping, and this all under two seconds before someone among the crowds shouted:

''THAT'S ISSHIN SHIBA!''

And that shout caused everyone to run at them, someone nudging poor Yuzu who was already scared out of her mind fell on the ground, but someone right away picked her up, asking Isshin if she was for sale, jokingly. Karin couldn't believe that each and everyone of those people wanted a piece of ''Isshin Shiba, the Shinigami who was brought back from the dead''. Oh how ironic, she thought. After standing there, listening to the men's jibber-jabber for what seemed like an eternity, the last-born decided to claim her father's attention:

'' Dad, when are we gonna hit the pedal?''

Isshin didn't take any notice to her, which made the girl more annoyed. Yuzu looked at her sister and knew that she would blow up soon if something wasn't done about it. So she too tried to tell her father that they should probably get going soon, but got only pulled into her father's lap, him explaining his life story to the men. He told them that Yuzu was his little princess, everyone in awe of her cuteness as she wiggled her way out of her father's lap.

''... yes, isn't she wonderful? And the other twin is my little champ Karin-chan, whose right here behin-'' his following words were left unspoken as a foot with gigantic force hit his face, the force of it slamming him against a concrete house. Karin had had enough of this crap, and went to his father, pulling him by the collar and telling him:

'' Get your act together, and let's fine the application center, dumbass''

'' Did someone say 'application center'?'' A feminine voice echoed from somewhere near.

Karin turned around to meet a tall, lean woman with majestically carried, unbelievably large breasts and shoulder length orange hair. Even Karin could recognize that she had good looks, when she often didn't even notice anyone's looks in general. She answered, coughing a little from the distraction:

'' I did''

The woman gave her an odd look, mostly because of the clothes she was wearing, for they were clearly from the human world. And she looked familiar, too, somehow. She came closer to the girl, and noticed someone laying on the ground behind her, moaning in minor agony.

'' Are you alright sir? Did this girl hurt you?''

Isshin recognized that voice immediately and knew that the voice's keeper also owned a hot temper like his middle child did, and readied himself for another beating.

'' No, miss. It would take a hundred more of those to even scratch me'' He replied and got up to face the woman, who looked alarmed as she saw his not-so-easily forgettable face.

''I- Isshin?'' the woman said carefully, sounding like she would've never believed that she'd have the pleasure to say it out loud again.

'' How ya doin' Matsumoto?'' Isshin said and smiled at her his genuine, real-deal not faked smile, which was soon broken by a fist that flew him against the ground again. Matsumoto got on top of him, searching the right position to punch him for an eternity, as she screamed:

'' You thoughtless, immature, idiotic son of a bitch! How dare you show your face here? We thought you were dead you bastard!''

Her eyes were in tears, and her punches began to weaken which Isshin took advantage of and grabbed her wrists, saying:

'' I came here to bring my daughter to apply for the Shin'ō Academy'' he said and the woman looked at him with wide eyes.

''You have a daughter?''

'' Two of them. And a son too'' He replied, finally getting back on his feet as the woman had finally got off of him.

'' That's Yuzu'' he said, pointing at her clutching on to her sister,'' and that's Karin, whose gonna attend the school'' he pointed at Karin who looked irritated.

''And then there's my son, Ichigo'' He said and looked up to the sky, as if Ichigo was there.

'' Who you've already met''

* * *

><p>Paperwork. It was always paperwork. If it wasn't his own, then it would be someone else's, who was too lazy to do their own damn shit. It was like the world had nothing else to offer him but paperwork. The world is an asshole, he thought.<p>

And now he was in charge of the new applicants too, since the school was basically in pieces after Yamamoto had died. All of the captains had to do their share for the school, along with the kido corps and the onmitsukido. And now, he, Hitsugaya Toushiro, was doing his share which always was and always will be, he thought, paperwork.

His job was to basically to let one applicant at a time in, give them a form of application, and ask a few questions about them that he wrote down in their personal files. Questions like: Which district do you come from? Which family have you been staying with? Who is your trusted one, if you die/injure yourself in battle? These kind of primary questions needed to be answered, and it was only for the safety of the students.

'' Let the next one in, please!'' Toushiro exclaimed at the shinigami in charge of letting the students in. The door opened, and in came a tall, muscular man in his finest, blue kimono that had lotus flowers on it. His hair was blond and his facial features quite feminine, with pouty lips and thick, black eyelashes.

'' Name'' Toushiro asked without even looking at him, and taking out one of the many forms that were in a pile next to him.

'' Wakahisa Yoshitaka'' he answered in a smooth, satisfying tone.

'' District?'' Hitsugaya continued in his routine like manner.

'' 72'' he answered.

'' Family?'' He asked, still not looking at the young man, who was undoubtedly older than him.

'' None, sir'' Yoshitaka answered, with a sort of mourning in his voice. That's when Toushiro dared to take a quick peek at the man, whose eyes looked emotionless and yellow, a very unusual color for eyes.

'' Trusted ones?'' he asked his last question, now finally looking him straight in the eye.

'' None, sir'' He repeated.

Hitsugaya filled out the last question in his form, and then handed a new one to the boy, telling him:

''Fill this out, and return it to Captain Komamura in the end of the next hall by the end of the day'' He answered in his nonchalant way, not looking at the boys face again. As the boy was leaving out the door, it was slammed right against him, as an exhilarated Matsumoto came in. Toushirou was about to say something as Rangiku noticed the young man lying on the floor, and then helped him up from the floor, saying:

'' I'm sorry young man, the floor is not the right place to take a nap'' and she pushed him out the door, the boy having trouble to see anything after such a bang in the head.

'' Matsumoto, what the hell do you think you're doing?'' Hitsugaya asked as he took a sip of his tea that by now had gone cold, but that was just the way he liked it.

'' Captain, you wont believe who has come back to life!'' She smiled widely and looked too happy for Hitsugaya, who began to get a headache. The sentence she had said didn't even fully process in his head so he asked:

'' Who, Matsumoto?'' And he filled out some other forms casually while waiting for an answer, which came as a surprising lift from his chair, by a man he thought he'd never see again.

'' Wow Toushirou! Still doing paperwork like a professional! Amazing!'' Isshin held the captain like you do with a little kid, hands under their armpits. Sure, Toushirou had grown since the last time he had done that, but he was still tiny compared to him. Hitsugaya, wide-eyed at the former Captain of the tenth division, felt as if all the words in the universe had somehow disappeared. Poof. Into the air.

'' C- Captain Shiba'' he said very quietly. Then continued, noticing the position he was in:

'' Put me down''

Isshin did as he was told, now eyeing the Captain a bit closer. His hair was a bit different, and he had grown at least sixteen inches since he last saw him. Heck, he was about as tall as Karin!

'' You've grown a lot, Toushirou'' He said and ruffled his hair, patronizing him unintentionally. Toushiro was glad that his mid-day naps and continuous milk-drinking had lead to someone acknowledging his growth. But he kept the pleasant feeling hidden, only to ask coldly and casually:

''Why have you come back, Captain Shiba?''

Isshin remembered his icy-cold nature well, and he was happy he had remained unchanged. Well, except for his height and and general appearance. Toushirou was about the only one who didn't bother to ask him his life story, how he had saved Masaki's life by giving up his shinigami life. How his wife turned out to be half Quincy, half hollow. It didn't intrest him one bit. He adjusted so well to new situations, he didn't have to. When Isshin was about to open his mouth, Karin, once again, cut him off to tell the icy Captain:

'' Because I want to attend the Shin'ō Academy, snowflake'' She had come behind his father, where Toushirou hadn't seen her, and was surprised to see a human girl in his office.

And who the hell was she calling snowflake, impertinent wench!

'' And who is this wench?'' Toushirou asked as if Karin had a degree in wenchiness.

'' My daughter, Karin Kurosaki'' Isshin replied, not mad at Toushirou for calling his daughter a wench because Karin had cut him off.

'' Kurosaki?'' Toushirou repeated the surname which he knew well.

'' Oh I should've known!'' he whispers to himself, making everyone else in the room uncomfortable, except Matsumoto, who declared that she had the cutest Captain ever. Karin and Yuzu looked at each other, Yuzu chuckling at the situation, and whispering to her sister:

'' Is dad his godfather or something? He's kinda cute!''

Karin shook her head, saying:

'' It's much more complicated than that. See, he used to be the captain of this division, and this guy here used to have the 3rd seat. Matsumoto was dad's and apparently is this guy's lieutenant.''

''How do you know?'' Yuzu asked, confused about everything Karin said.

'' Didn't you here this Matsumoto-gal explain this shit to dad?'' Karin asked, narrowing her eyebrows, finding it odd for Yuzu to not listen.

'' Oh, I guess I didn't''

'' But he's cute'' she declared.

'' Whatever floats your boat, Yuzu.'' Karin said and looked at the white haired captain who was arguing with Isshin, about the fact that Karin was a human and humans have never entered the school before. Karin wanted to join the conversation, but was distracted by the teal-blue eyes of the captain, that showed familiarity to her own. So apathetic and arrogant, yet they seemed to hide something behind them. After she realized she had been looking at the guy for over 30 seconds, she shook her head and tried to join the conversation.

'' Isshin, don't you understand that this would mean that the school system should rewrite the rules if she came in?'' Hitsugaya sounded bored and tired of this conversation.

'' See, I don't believe so. You know that already the Gotei 13 has done more than enough against the rules, and I don't believe that letting in a girl whose one third shinigami, one third quincy and one third hollow would be the worst broken rule! The research Institute-''

'' Hold on, hold on.'' Hitsugaya interrupted.

'' You mean to tell me that that wench is all of that?'' He looked at Karin inquiringly. She just looked like a human girl, to be honest. You'd think that a combination of those three races would create a monster.

Isshin nodded, and put his hand around Karin's shoulder, who clearly didn't enjoy it.

'' And I believe the Research Institute would really benefit of her as a test subject.''

Now it was Karin's turn to look pissed off.

'' What, like a laboratory rat? I thought it'd be a few blood tests, but a test subject?! You must be joking!''

Yuzu tried to calm her sister down, grabbing her from her sleeve.

'' Oh, no Karin, no you got me wrong, honey! They're really nice at the research institute, and they'll definitely let you go to the school if you do this! C'mon, they'll just run a few tests and watch your progress in school and that's all!''

Isshin tried to convince Karin, who then in turn tried to respond, when someone came at her from the behind, putting some weird, smelly cloth on her face, that covered her mouth and nose. She felt hazy, and began to slip away, her consciousness drifting away from her. The last thing she saw was her sister's horrified face, her hand reached out to her.

I never should've gone through with this.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Here it is! A little bit of Hitsugaya in there, as promised!**

**AAgh I feel like this chapter was too quick and I should've taken my time with this but oh well.**

**And I ended it with a cliffhanger. YAY!**

**Also, It'll be quite some time till I can continue writing. (5-8 days) so be patient, if you even care c:**

**Hopefully you enjoyed it,if not, tell me why it was shit so I can work on that.**

**PEACE!**


	5. V Fear Experiments

V. Fear Experiments

'' Captain Kurotsutchi, not so roughly, asshat!'' Isshin yelled furoisly to the Captain of the 12th division, who had taken out Karin with something that resembled chloroform, and was now handing the paralyzed teen to lower-ranked members of his division. One of them grabbed Karin's torso, trying to resist the temptation of cupping a feel of her beautifully round breasts. The other took her legs, marveling at the smooth porcelain skin of her legs, wishing to be caught between her velvety thighs. Isshin felt uncomfortable, seeing the gaze that two of the shinigami had on his daughter, but decided that as members of the Gotei 13 the men would not let their thoughts become actions, and let it slide, once.

'' Oi, Oi, Isshin Shiba-san, we have deal. I get to experiment on your daughter's mind and body to find out about this whole Quincy-hollow-shinigami fusion you have so beautifully created for us, and your daughter gets to go to our school, as long as you have no say what happens from here onward'' Mayuri paused, taking a look at the seemingly powerless Yuzu, and stroke her cheek gingerly, wondering what it would feel like to dissect her in all her innocence. He felt turned on by the thought. Isshin didn't hesitate to grab Mayuri's hand after seeing such fear in Yuzu's light brown eyes, and such lust in Mayuri's.

'' I am aware of that deal'' he replied sternly, '' and I recall we agreed off limits on Yuzu here, so keep your part of the deal and get the fuck lost''

Mayuri's face was dominated by a scary, wide grin that hissed a little, this hissing being his laughter. He turned away and gave his men a signal to take Karin out of the room, and winked back at Yuzu as he left the room. Yuzu seemed mildly traumatized by the experience. Hitsugaya and Matsumoto gazed at the weird family, that they had gone all this trouble for. For Karin's sake, they had had to act out that they did not know Isshin was trying to get her into the shinigami school. They had known all along, since Urahara and Isshin had been in close contact with the Captains after the decision of Karin's attendance was made. Karin would, eventually, begin in the new school, but first she has to go through series of the Research Institute's tests. The two Kurosaki's in the room apparently knew about it too, only Karin was left in the dark of her future. She didn't have to go through the entrance exam since it was already obvious she was an extremely powerful creature, and an even more powerful asset to the Gotei 13, if the tests proved she had also Quincy powers in her, like her brother did.

'' Nee, Hitsugaya, should we leave these two alone for a minute?'' Matsumoto grabbed her captain from his sleeve, trying to get his attention.

'' Whatever'' He answered surprisingly apathetically, even for his cool attitude. He left the room quietly, behind Matsumoto, peeking a little at the girl and his father, Captain Isshin Shiba. He closed the door behind him, letting out an awkward sigh.

'' Wow'' Matsumoto said as she walked across the hall, her Captain following her silently.

'' That was a rather unpleasant experience'' she continued, looking back at her Captain who seemed deep in thought. Matsumoto stopped walking and watched as Hitsugaya continued on, not noticing her in the slightest. Just what was he thinking about? She felt the need to make some conversation, being the extroverted type unlike her Captain, and tried to open up a conversation:

'' That Yuzu-chan is really cute, isn't she, Captain?'' she said teasingly, as she had overheard the girl earlier talking to her now captured sister that she thought Hitsugaya was cute. Who has a little match-making ever harmed, she thought.

''Well, Captain?'' She tried to ask again after hearing no reply.

Hitsugaya was lost in thought, contemplating on the fate of the young, raven haired Kurosaki girl. He was a bit surprised that Isshin had decided to let the clearly nut-case of a Captain experiment on her, even if it was for the Research Institute. There was no way he would've done this in the past, when he was still the Captain of the tenth division. He used to be a true hero. Had the human world turned him into an apathetic asshole? It wouldn't surprise him, given the past he has had there, with that Quincy companion and all that. It would easily make anyone bitter, but Hitsugaya expected more of him. For gods sake, he was Isshin Shiba! But, it was also important to find out more about quincy powers, with the war behind them. Indeed...

'' Hmm?'' Hitsugaya came back to reality, noticing he was being talked to.

'' Oh, gee, thanks for listening, **brat!**'' Matsumoto exclaimed, insulting the white-haired Captain quite severely, since he did not like being patronized by shinigami's of a lower rank. Well, he really didn't like to be insulted by higher ranks either. I guess he didn't like to be insulted, period. He inhaled deep, and shouted, so that his voice could be heard even beyond the Tenth Division's quarters:

'' MATSUMOTO, HOW DARE YOU INSULT YOUR CAPTAIN AS IF YOU WERE MUCH ABOVE HIM, YOU INSOLENT WENCH!'' His emerald eyes widened from anger and spat flew from his lips on to his lieutenant's face, who looked at Hitsugaya surprised from his sudden outburst. His eyes settled and his mouth shut, after no response from his lieutenant came. Only right then, they heard a door open in close distance, both turning their heads to look at who was there.

Of course, it was the two Kurosakis, batting their inquiring eyes at the two.

'' Are you alright, Hitsugaya?'' Isshin asked, feeling nostalgic seeing the two of them like that. It was almost like old times. As he approached them, Hitsugaya began, blushing of embarrassment:

'' Yes, Captain- Shiba. I have control over the situation'' His words were cool but his face revealed his embarrassment of the situation to the former Captain, who turned to Matsumoto, saying:

'' Lietunant Matsumoto of the tenth division, do you not have any manners? You have insulted your Captain, why, you deserve to be punished!'' Matsumoto recognized the playful amusement in Isshin eyes, thinking '' Why you cheeky asshat'', as Hitsugaya demanded after being encouraged by Isshin :

'' Give Me 50 push-ups, NOW!''

Ah, fuck me, she thought and went down on her fours.

~~õ~~

At the Research institute's laboratory, things were beginning to get interesting. The perverted shinigamis that had brought Karin to the Research Institute, were now being forcefully escorted out of the room by the lieutenant of the 12th division, Nemu. As she closed the slide-in doors, Mayuri gave her a knowing look, Nemu responding with a shy smile, soon turning away and coming to the girl she had only heard of before, this Karin Kurosaki. She was a bit lanky, and seemed to be a little muscular, too. Nevertheless she had a feminine bump on her stomach like most average human girls did, Nemu observed. She started to strip her down as the Captain washed his hands in the sink. The laboratory was rather large, and had taken some influences from a normal operating room from the human world, only it was a bit more spacious and it was filled with all kinds of operating tools. It also had a wall that was covered by a huge majestic mirror that almost filled out the entire wall. Most of the operating tools were for operating on souls, so they would've freaked any normal human being right out of their minds. One looked like a long, sharp, steel straw that was mainly used to suck out reiatsu from the bodily holes. But for Karin's luck they had other kind of tools, too, like normal operating knives and scissors.

Or maybe it wasn't her luck.

'' I've stripped the girl, Captain'' Nemu informed, not looking at the naked teenager's body on the high operating table as Mayuri approached it. He had changed into a white operating robe while Nemu was working on the girl, but wore no mask on his mouth. He never did.

'' Thank you, Nemu, and thank you, Captains of Gotei 13 for attending this place at this revolutionary time'' He said to the mirror, which apparently wasn't a mirror at all, but a one-sided window, with an observing room behind it. All of the Captains, including the former Captain of the tenth division, Isshin, was there.

Yuzu was left behind with Matsumoto who would escort her back to the human world, as another part of her punishment for being rude to Hitsugaya. Actually, Isshin had asked her before, her answer being negative, but after the small quarrel between the lieutenant and the Captain, Isshin had manipulated Hitsugaya into telling her to do it and so he did. He didn't want Yuzu to experience this, and wasn't sure if he himself wanted to. He didn't want to watch her daughter being dissected, no, he just wanted to make sure that they wouldn't do any unnecessary or grotesque experiments on her. He knew Karin would possibly never forgive him for this, and he felt guilty for pulling Yuzu into it too.

Urahara was sure that the Research Institute would find out about her heritage sooner or later, which would only create problems for the future. He had suggested to Isshin, in private, that he should announce his existence to the whole of Soul Society, which would definitely light a fire under the ass of Gotei 13. Then, he'd tell all about his history, and Ichigo, of course. He'd tell them that he had two other kids, one of them wanting to even attend the Shin'ō Academy, with her powers. It was evident that Ichigo would never let himself up to the institute, so they had to do it on Karin, since Yuzu was practically powerless. Only, Karin was just as stubborn and independent that would never let herself up, eventually never getting to attend the Academy. Isshin knew it wasn't his place to make these decisions for her, but dammit, this wasn't only about Karin!

This was about creating a future.

For everyone.

This is what he had explained to Yuzu, since he could not keep any secrets from her anymore, espescially a big and revolutionary one like this. It affected her life too, now didn't it? Yuzu was first extremely against the idea and would not talk to the man for a week. But soon, something changed. She got to think about it, I mean really think about the ups and downs, figuring, that Karin would be happier there after the operations were over. And, as she had been told, she would not remember any of it.

Only that was a lie, Isshin thought to himself as these word escaped Mayuri's lips:

'' And now, the operation begins.''

Isshin grabbed the sleeve of his former lieutenant as the small knife penetrated his beautiful, intelligent, lovable daughter's belly. He whispered, almost whimpering:

'' W -Will you promise to protect her after I've gone out from Soul Society, Toushirou?'' His blue, watery eyes pierced the young, emerald ones of Hitsugaya's, who was a bit shocked by his former Captain's reaction. Toushirou had never seen him emotional, unless the emotion was angry, exhilarated or bored. Utter sadness and despair were not ones he had seen nor wanted to see, but did now. He looked at Isshin's hand that by now was squeezing his tiny arm, not hurting him, but giving enough pressure to know that he was serious.

Hitsugaya's emotions came over him as he answered:

'' Of course, my captain. Anything for you''

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So it took me a little while longer to get back on the saddle, but here I am, riding the pony I call fan fiction!**

**So, This chapter was a bit shorter than the others but I really like it this way (though I might change my mind in the future, meh) so I left it a bit short.**

**Someone asked if this was going to be a hitsukarin fic and I'm here to tell you that absolutely 1000% YES!**

**I am very committed to this ship and want it to boil up slowly, so it'll make more sense.**

**NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON!**

**PS. Thanks for the follows, favorites and reviews, I love each and everyone of you lovelies ;)**

**P.P.S If there are stupid mistakes there point them out I've been a bit confused lately with my writing.**

**PEACE!**


	6. VI A Virgin's Kiss

**VI. A Virgin's Kiss**

_Karin didn't feel alive. She was being heavily drugged by some force or being, as she felt a small tube spitting a strange substance into the large vain in her right arm. Honestly, she didn't know if she was imagining this. Karin couldn't keep her thoughts together, but she wasn't dreaming. She was awake, but she wasn't sure where, when or how. She could occasionally hear strange noises (or voices, she really didn't know) around her, and they repeated themselves methodically. There were two noises; a soft, low one and a quiet mouse-like one. As she tried to find the strength to become fully conscious once again, she only felt worse as the noises became louder, feeling as though they were drilling dents into her skull. But a worse pain came soon after, as suddenly she felt like her sternum had been pulled off of her chest. Then she fell into blissful oblivion, not sure whether she was dying or if the mysterious drugs were kicking in._

The operations and laboratory tests were finally over. Isshin was relieved to see that his daughter was sound asleep in the Fourth Division's hospital section. But now that the crucial scientific part of it was over, it was time for Isshin to face his daughter. But how could he? He had done an unforgivable deed. Or that's what it would seem like to the self-reliable teen. She never liked anyone making decisions on her behalf; she wanted to be independent and rely on no one. Isshin knew her reasons behind it, and that made him feel even worse. Karin didn't want to seem like a reliability to anyone after her mother's death. She had decided that her family had enough problems to begin with, and no vulnerable teenage girl would make things easier for anyone. So she had locked up, and hadn't really been emotionally available to anyone since.

It was all his fault, Isshin thought. He had thought Karin would find out for herself that going solo has never made anyone fulfilled or happy. That she would realize that she'd have to open up to someone sooner or later. But now it was his fault. He had thought she was more mature, but of course, she's only a child. His child. And now he was making the cowardly move and leaving her behind with Toushirou and a letter he had written for her days ago, when the first operations had started. It had broken his heart, and made him realize how he should have looked for consultation on the decision from Karin. But he hadn't, and now he had given the letter to Toushirou, who would give the letter to Karin on his behalf.

But now it was time for Isshin to leave Soul Society and be on his way back to Karakura town, back to Yuzu. If only Karin was as easy to handle as her twin sister was. If only he was a better father, he thought as he took his first step into the Senkaimon, watching the black Jigokucho-butterfly fly past him. A regretful thought invaded his mind:

I'm sorry.

~~O~~

'' Captain-Hitsugaya!'' Rangiku's usually seductive voice exclaimed solemnly to her captain.

'' Hm?'' Toushirou turned his head a bit to face his vice-captain.

'' What did Isshin hand out to you at the end of the last operation?'' She asked and was now walking beside her captain back to their division's quarters.

'' Why do you ask?'' Toushirou wasn't giving up information that easily, not even to his own vice-captain. Besides, a letter to one's daughter was a relatively intimate thing.

Rangiku sighed at the reply she had received, knowing that this would be one of those things Toushirou would fight for until revealing it.

'' I'm worried'' she said after calculating that telling him she was just 'interested' wouldn't cut it. She earned an inquiring yet icy glance from Toushirou, who then asked:

'' About what?''

'' Well'' she began, thinking of what to say next, and coming up with:

'' I'm worried whether that letter is for Kurotsutchi'' her voice became steady within those words, as she was trying to hide an immense amount of fear with it.

The atmosphere changed between the two. Hitsugaya's shoulders became stiff and shot up from the shrug they had been in. His senses seemed to wake up too. He was beginning to get aware of his surroundings, and even more aware of himself. His eyes hid the remorse behind their iciness as he replied silently, almost whispering:

'' It's not for him''

He then surprised his underling by turning one-hundred and eighty degrees around and running. Rangiku shouted:

'' Were are you going, Captain?''

'' To the hospital'' he responded in a loud voice.

'' What about the paperwork regarding the Shin'ō Academy?'' She shouted at him but was left without an answer.

'' Well I'm not doing it by myself'' she said to herself and began coordinating for the nearest sake bar.

~~O~~

Hitsugaya felt a bit stupid for doing this, but his emotions had taken him over. He wasn't the kind of guy who'd let history repeat itself. He would not leave the girl he was assigned to protect alone, even if she was a god-awful wench. Not again.

He could still remember that strange quincy turning him into a zombie. He couldn't recall his first death, even if he tried. He had been too tired at the time. But he sure remembered being resurrected. Well, not completely, not really. It was like a tiny inch of him that hadn't died yet had remained within him even after being zombiefied. He had felt so powerless at the time, even thinking about it made him shrug in embarrassment. How could he be controlled so easily? How could he have let this happen? It made it worse that he later on found out that Rangiku had been turned too.

He had entered a battlefield like thunder, wounding Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa. He had been screaming, begging his body not to do it but the zombie in him was persistent to perform the tasks the ''Puppetmaster'' had given to it.

But then he had got into that fight. That fight with Kurotsuchi. He had almost won, and the bit of him inside the zombiefied body had tried almost everything to keep the body not attacking a fellow captain. But he was weak. He couldn't. He had killed him, with his Daigure Hyouriomaru. But then he was back in the beginning. He had to fight the madman over and over again, until Mayuri had turned his sword into Hitsugaya's neck. He had felt happy at his own death, but afraid of the medical studies Kurotsuchi was taking on him right there and then. Was his death so meaningless to him, as a captain of the Gotei 13?

He could remember the tiny substance of his soul fading slowly but surely. And then Momo's sweet face had appeared before him. Oh no, he had thought. Oh no, not here! He had wept inside. Momo had found his body, and her eyes looked reddened. She had a lethal-looking wound in her shoulder, and a line of blood was dripping from the corner of her pale lips. She was with somebody, he could distantly hear the voice, and it was approaching. It said:

'' This is very brave of you, Hinamori-san'' the sinister voice was infallible. Kurotsuchi.

The last thing he can remember of the Quincy war was being gently kissed by Momo, his first love, and the taste of her crimson blood. It was sweet but bitter, just like Momo herself. She had never quite got back to normal after Aizen, always carrying that extra bit of weight on her shoulders. Every time they'd meet Toushirou could not look at her, and Momo could not forget. Yet she had fallen in love with him, and the kiss was proof. It was the kiss of a lover.

But in the middle of it all, he had blacked out into total whiteness, and when he woke up several weeks later, things weren't the same.

~~O~~

'' So this is Captain Shiba-san's daughter then?'' A nurse with a long, gray ponytail and wrinkled eyes asked from another, younger nurse. They seemed to have a mother-daughter-like relationship, and worked very well together. Isshin had known the old woman from when he still lived in Soul Society, and had always respected her strength and skill as a medical shinigami, and for that reason had wanted her to look out for Karin in the hospital.

'' Yes, that's right, Yuki-sama'' she answered politely as she tucked the girl in her bed. She then checked her IV, and patted her thigh over the blanket.

'' She's so beautiful'' the young nurse stated as she watched her peaceful somber.

'' Indeed, Yume-chan'' Yuki replied, and added jokingly'' looks nothing like her father''

The two women giggled together and almost immediately stopped, as they felt a strong reiatsu approaching. They both took shielding positions in front of the hospital bed with Karin in it, and looked at the entrance intensively. They watched as the delicate hand of Hitsugaya Toushirou appeared on the side of the door frame. He gave the two a curious look and asked:

'' What are you doing?''

Yuki shot an arrogant look back at the boy and snorted:

'' The real question is why are you here, Tosushirou-kun?''

Toushirou took a step forward and stood right across Yuki, looking down in to her eyes.

'' You've shortened'' he stated.

'' You haven't grown a bit Suika-Suika-kun'' The old woman replied to the impolite statement.

Toushirou's eyebrow twitched at the reply, which thesis was totally incorrect. He had grown at least 16 inches since the last time they'd met. She was clearly trying to irritate him.

'' Oh you two'' Said Yume, laying her right hand on Toushirou's shoulder, and the other on Yuki's.

'' It's really been a long time since we've seen each other, hasn't it?'' She tried to lighten up the mood. She could recall all the times Isshin had been at the relief station after participating in some fight in the human world. In the beginning of his captainship he was the young daredevil, whose suicidal attempts to kill the enemy head-on caused him to spend weeks in the hospital bed. Often times he'd ask his vice-captain to move their office to the hospital room, and they'd often see that large-breasted lady and Toushirou around. Once Yume had offered Toushirou some watermelon, and he wound up eating two whole melons. Yuki had been mad since she had planned on serving them later to some of her patients, but now could not. So she threatened him with a curse, but ended up just giving him a derogatory nickname, Suika-Suika.

'' Yes it has, Yume-san, but I am not here for you two'' Toushirou replied in his cold custom way. He could see the frame of young Karin Kurosaki, who had shifted her lying position on the bed since Yume had tucked her in. She was in the fetus position, hugging her blanket tight against her chest.

'' Yes, before Isshin left, he told us you'd stop by at some point. I just assumed he didn't mean today'' Yuki paused as she was now beside Karin's bed, looking down at her lonely-looking face, and then continued '' but little Suika-Suika is full of surprises, now isn't he?''

The nickname still cracked in his ear when Yuki used it, but as a captain, he would not allow any immature fighting over a stupid name. He was there for a reason, and he would let them know it too.

'' Has Kurosaki-san woken up after the last operation?'' He inquired from the two nurses.

'' No, not once. We suspect she'll wake up any day now, but only time will tell'' Yume answered and looked at the IV percentages on a machine. The shinigami medical field was becoming more machine-based after Kurotsuchi had made a few changes after the war. It felt wrong letting go of traditions in the beginning, Yume had thought, but had realized that everything ha become easier due to the machines.

'' AAAAAGGHHHHH! STOOOOOP!'' a sudden scream escaped from Karin's unconscious lips, taking everyone in the room aback. Yume and Yuki took their positions beside their young patient routinely, Yume on the left side, and Yuki on the right. Karin was shaking uncontrollably, and her eyelids were fluttering rapidly. Yuki pushed a black pill into Karin's throat forcefully, and then closed her mouth, causing her to swallow the pill. In mere seconds her body was back asleep, as well as her mind.

'' What was that, Yuki-san?'' Toushirou asked still panting abit from the surprise. Her scream had been remarkably high-pitched, even though her voice was rather low.

'' Oh, she's been having very lucid nightmares, and she get's these panic attack-like seizures in her sleep. Every three hours she screams like this, and we have to give her the pill'' Yuki explained while stroking Karin's hair affectionately. Yume wiped Karin's forehead with a clean rag, as it was dripping with sweat.

Toushirou took a seat by the window on the single-patient hospital room and looked outside at the blue sky.

'' So you're staying then?'' Yuki asked while treating her patient, not sparing any emotion in her voice or even a look at the white-haired boy.

No response.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hello, I'm back! Or, well, the story's back!**

**I'm sorry it took me this long but I have two very valid reasons why I haven't been updating:**

**1) The events of chapter 591. I died. ****I had to re-think the plot all over. ( If you don't know what happened I basically revealed everything, sorry!)**

**2) School. Yes, indeed, school began in August where I live, so I've kinda been busy ever since.**

**But gimme some feedback, please, I'd love that. Even if it's about the general shitiness of my writing. **

**Thanks for all the favs and follows, love each and every one of you!**

**PEACE**** !**


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